


Anybody But You

by fabulously_frenzied



Series: ML Oneshots [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-28 14:53:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19396438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabulously_frenzied/pseuds/fabulously_frenzied
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir are up against one of Hawkmoth's trickiest akumas yet, and such a long-drawn-out battle in such a tight space means they'll both need to recharge, andsoon.





	Anybody But You

**Author's Note:**

> “yes hello hi ma’am what corner of the Miraculous Love Square would you like to register your fic under?”
> 
> yes
> 
> “no ma’am I don’t think—“
> 
> _yes_
> 
> “ma’am I’m sorry you have to pick one—“
> 
> _all of them_
> 
> “ma’am I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave”
> 
> _GIVE THEM TO ME_

"Oh, mon Dieu, anybody but _you!_ "

Those were not exactly the most reassuring words to come out of her partner's mouth.

Marinette hated it, hated everything about the situation they were in. Up against some random villain who called themselves the Collapser—and Lord only knows what they wanted—and, go figure, their environment was closing in around them. She'd never called herself claustrophobic before, but that status might change after this fight. She'd called on her Lucky Charm at least three times already, but each time she put a plan together, the Collapser destroyed all the components she needed by folding everything in on itself. Quick thinking alone couldn't save them, and she'd been lucky up until now because there'd still been a place for her and Chat Noir to detransform and recharge separately.

Now, however, her luck had run out. Their only option had been the tiniest broom closet in the world, and, naturally, she'd been so stressed out about the situation that she'd tripped over her partner as their transformations timed out. She'd wanted to keep her eyes closed as they did it, which was probably what led to her misstep, but they'd reached the closet with only moments to spare before their kwamis gave out and the magic was undone. For a split second, they'd made eye contact, blue eyes locking onto familiar green ones for the first time without their masks, before she immediately shut her eyes again. She didn't want to know. Maybe she did. A little. But she knew they couldn't.

That's when she heard his voice, and her heart sank: first, because now he knew who she was (and that wasn't allowed!), and second, because he was clearly disappointed.

"I mean, seriously!" he continued. _Quit talking,_ she thought, _quit talking quit talking quiT TALKING CHAT NOIR THIS IS BAD ENOUGH AS IT IS AND WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR—_ "You just _have_ to simultaneously be both of the girls I have feelings for? In what world is that fair?! All this time I felt like I was betraying you because I realized I also liked, well, _you!_ " He chuckled. "I felt so wrong for so long, and all this time I was like 'no I can't also love her, I love Ladybug!' Just a friend. I can't believe how insistent I was on that. Like really, how dumb could I be?"

Okay, maybe "disappointed" was the wrong word.

"And, like, you've been right there this _entire time!_ Like, literally right behind me!" Ah, he wasn't going to stop talking, was he? Of course not. It's Chat Noir. "I can't believe I never saw it. It makes perfect sense it's you! It couldn't be anybody _but_ you!"

She wanted so badly to open her eyes, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn’t. Would not. Maybe he wasn't disappointed, but that didn't mean it wasn't still a disaster. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen, and certainly not how she'd imagined it going. Not now, not here, and definitely not until after they'd brought down Hawkmoth. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter. Nothing in the world could make her open them, no sir—

"Come on, Maribug, open your eyes. I can't be that bad, can I?"

Oh, God. His voice had softened, though it retained that ever-playful lilt of his. Maybe he was right. Maybe it wasn't that bad. Slowly, all her defenses lowering, she opened her eyes, even though everything else in her was screaming not to. She looked up, and his eyes, those bright green eyes, filled her vision. Below it was a gentle smile that belied the amount of true joy he felt at knowing her identity. She unfocused, sort of zoomed out, and took in her partner in his unmasked state, grinning at her like she'd just handed him the world on a silver platter.

She shrieked. It was _definitely_ that bad.

Quickly, he brought a hand over her mouth. "Shh, Princess, there's still an akuma out there, remember? We have to recharge and get back to it." After so many rapidly-drained transformations, Tikki and Plagg had both been subdued into eating silently. The kwamis nodded, signaling they were ready to go again.

"This time for sure. You and me versus the world, right, Bugaboo?"

All she could do was smile back.

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/fabulously-frenzied)!


End file.
